Press



Nov. 20, 1962 R. B. TREER 3,064,559

PRESS Filed NOV. 19, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 nun IN V EN TOR.

H Arron/v5 Y5 R. B. TREER PRESS Nov. 20, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hul MI /7 JI Filed NOV. 19, 1959 |ll| lllF [Ill INVENTOR. Ross 5.79551? v a P Patented Nov. 20, 1962 3,064,559 PRESS Ross B. Treer, 14%9 Cohass-ett Ave Lakewood '7, @hio Filed Nov, 19, 1959, Ser. No. 854,058 1 Claim. (Cl. 199-292) This invention relates to rotary shaft operated machinery or apparatus such as power presses or the like, and more particularly to eccentric operated stamping or dyeing presses.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved press or the like of the above mentioned character having a reciprocating assembly adapted to have forming, extruding or other similar ma erial working tools attached thereto, in which the reciprocating assembly derives its motion from a rotary crankshaft or eccentric means driving the assembly through a pitman in the form of a generally rectangular block or integral member having a central opening therein for receiving the crank or eccentric shaft with suitable antifriction bearing mean such as roller or ball bearings therebetween, the pitman block or member having parallel plane surfaces on two opposite sides and being interposed between and spaced from two similar parallel plane surfaces on the reciprocating assembly with the plane surfaces on the pitman member parallel with and spaced from the plane surfaces on the reciprocating assembly, and the pairs of parallel surfaces facing one another serving as flat races tor fiat caged anti-friction hearings or the like interposed therebetween.

As another object the invention is to provide more efficient and reliable apparatus of the general kind referred to above having reciprocable platens, tool carriers, or the like, movable relative to one another, and which is rugged yet simple in construction, easy to assemble and disassemble, and which will operate at high speeds over long periods of sustained use with little attention or adjustment.

The invention may be further briefly described as residing in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, and other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment described with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which:

FIG. '1 is an end view, partly in section, of a movable platen power press embodying the present invention.

FIG, 2 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, partly in section, and

FIG. 3 is a plan View, partly in section, of the power press of FIG. 1, and taken along line 3-3 thereof.

Referring to the drawings there is illustrated therein, a punch or power press having a generally box-like frame 11, provided with suitable bearings 12 and 13 for rotatably supporting an eccentric shaft 15 journalled therein. A plurality of upright rod-like pillars or shafts 17 are secured to the frame 11 and are maintained with their heads 18 against the under side of their supporting bosses 19 by set screws 26. In the present embodiment there are four upright shafts 17 supporting a stationary tool carrying member or crosshead 22 over the frame 11. The stationary crosshead 22 is adjustably positioned on the shafts 17 between cooperating pairs of nuts 23, 24 threadedly engaged thereon.

A movable tool carrying member or platen 26 is slidably mounted on the shafts 17 for reciprocating movement therealong toward and away from the stationary tool support or crosshead 22. The movable platen 26 is provided with suitable bushings 27 surrounding the shafts 17, and is adapted to carry tools such as punches or the like to cooperate with tools such as dies or the like fixed to the stationary support or crosshead 22.

The shaft 15, having an eccentric portion 36 is provided with a flywheel 31 which is conveniently keyed to the shaft as at 32. The flywheel and shaft may be driven from a power source by any suitable drive or transmission means such as are well known to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and which need not be further described herein, other than to say that the press it) embodying this invention is capable of relatively high speed operation because of the low inertia and freedom from vibration of the moving parts resulting from its novel construction, and it may be conveniently driven either through conventional continually running or single revolution clutch and brake means.

As is best illustrated in FIG. 1, a movable lower member or cross-head 35 is slidably supported on the guide shafts 17 in parallel relation to the movable platen 26, and is maintained in spaced relation with respect thereto by a pair of spacer blocks 37, 38. The movable platen 26 and the movable lower crosshead 35 are each fixedly secured to the spacer blocks 37, 38 by screws it? which may be suitably countersunk.

A generally rectangular pitman member or block 42 having parallel upper and lower plane surfaces 43 and s 44, respectively, forms the sliding or transversely moving portion or" the pitman assembly. The diameter of the eccentric portion 36 is greater than the diameter of he shaft 15 and the block 42, which is a one-piece member, has a cylindrical through opening 46, the inner surface of which serves as a race for a circular array of caged roller bearings 47 which surround, and serve as antifriction means for, the circular eccentric lobe 30 of the rotary shaft 15. The bearings 47 are preferably formed in two axially adjacent groups and are spaced from the frame and retained within the block 42 by end plates 43.

Between the surface 43 of the block 42 and the adjacent plane surface 55. of the movable platen 26 parallel therewith are fiat caged roller bearings 52, and between the surface 44 of the block 42 and the adjacent plane surface 53 of the movable crosshead 35 parallel therewith are similar flat caged roller bearings 54. The roller bearings 52 and 54 transmit vertical reciprocating motion directly to the assembly comprising the movable tool supporting platen 26 and to the lower crosshead 35 from the pitman block 42, while serving as antifriction means for transverse sliding movement of the block.

The spacer blocks 37 and 38 may be ground or otherwise finished to the proper vertical dimension to accurately preload the roller bearings 52 and 54, and when they are once so ized very little additional attention is necessary aside from providing proper lubrication. The spacer or retainer plates 49 which serve to retain the circular array of rollers 47 act also to maintain the flat caged bearings 52 and 54 in their respective raceways.

It will be observed that the pitman arrangement of this invention, including the one-piece sliding block 42, eliminates long and weighty connecting rods and utilizes a symmetrical distribution of mass on opposite sides of the crank or eccentric shaft 15, and also that the block 4-2 and the surrounding reciprocating assembly comprising the movable platen 26, lower cross-head 35 and spacer blocks 37, 38, has its center of gravity substantially coincident with the eccentric lobe 30 on the shaft 15.

The consequent reduction in reciprocating or oscillating mass and the provision of a substantially common center of gravity permits the operation of the press 10 at high speeds with a minimum of wear and vibration. The higher operating speeds make the use of a short stroke eccentric shaft drive, such as here employed in the press It), practicable without the sacrifice in effective pressures available from the press. When the press is operated at very high speeds, the flywheel 31 may advantageously be. replaced by a counterbalance disposed on the side of the shaft 15 opposite the eccentric lobe portion 30.

From the foregoing detailed description of a press embodying the present invention it will be apparent that a novel and more effective form of press has been provided and that the press will be reliable and efficient in operation, substantially free from vibration, and capable of high speed and long periods of sustained use with little required attention.

Although the invention has been described somewhat in detail and with reference to a specific preferred embodiment in the form of a press it will be evident that the invention could be otherwise embodied as long as it is possible to assembly the pitman member 42 on the eccentric of the shaft by movement of the shaft through the central opening of the pitman member or as by using anti-friction bearing means other than rollers, for example, balls, or the like, and it is understood that the invention is not limited to the described embodiment but rather includes such changes, adaptations, and modifications as are reasonably embraced by the scope of the appended claim,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a high speed power driven press or the like, a frame providing a first surface adapted to have a tool or tools attached thereto, a first member slidably supported by said frame for movement towards and away from said first surface, said first member providing a second surface on the side thereof facing said first surface and adapted to have a tool or tools attached thereto for cooperation with a tool or tools attached to said first surface and a third surface on the side thereof opposite said side having said second surface, said third surface being normal to the path of movement of said first memher, a second member slidably supported by said frame adjacent the side of said first member having said third surface for movement with said first member and having a fourth surface on its side facing said third surface and parallel with said third surface, spacing means interposed between said third and fourth surfaces fixedly secured to, spacing, and joining said first and second members for movement as a unit, a shaft extending between said first and second members and supported by said frame by two spaced bearings for rotation about an axis parallel with said third and fourth surfaces, said shaft having intermediate said bearings an eccentric the diameter of which is greater than the diameter of said shaft thereon, means for rotating said shaft, an integral pitman between said first and second members and having a central opening therethrough receiving said eccentrio and surfaces on two opposite sides thereof parallel with and spaced from said third and fourth surfaces, a circular array ofroller bearing means between said eccentric and said pitman member, and roll r bearing means between said surfaces on said pitman member and said third and fourth surfaces, said pitman member being positioned between and spaced from said spacing means fixedly securing said first and second members together, and said roller bearing means between said surfaces on said pitman member and said third and fourth surfaces being preloaded to eliminate all lost motion therebetween References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 426,340 Stolpe Apr. 22, 1890 734,595 Olin July 28, 1903 1,722,999 Andrews et al. Aug. 6, 1929 2,475,692 Borzym July 12, 1949 2,941,239 Theysohn June 21, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,284 Great Britain 1900 

